Mal fell in love with his wife, Yasmin, back in school. Their entire life was like a fairy tale, the protagonists of their own story. However, it all fell apart just after their daughters first birthday when Yasmin suddenly vanished, never to appear again. Or so Mal thought. Yasmin was sent over to another world, one of cultivation with righteous sects and devil sects warring against one another, cultivators battling with flying swords and immortal arts. This lost wife battled for 5,000 years, ruling an entire empire during the process, before she ascended to immortality. She didn't ascend to the higher realm however, instead using her only Strand of Divinity to break through the veil and return to Earth, losing all of her cultivation and falling to mortality. With no cultivation, she returned home to find only five years had passed on earth, and her husband and daughter completely estranged toward her. She wants to love her husband and be loved in return, but it is difficult for her to repair her damaged married when she has spent millennia ordering people around as an Empress. ------------------------------------------------- Currently entered into the weekly "sweet love" contest, so please shower those spirit stones, comments and reviews (but no spam reviews). I'll be posting at least 2 chapters a day. I do not own the cover art used for this novel. Original is by James NG Art. You can view all his work and buy prints on his webpage by copying the link below and pasting it into your browser. http://jamesngart.com/
"Ether, this father is the greatest!" Mal laughed jovially and picked up his daughter, placing her on his lap.
Five years had passed since his wife, Yasmin, had vanished. Mal had filed a missing person's report with the police, but nobody knew where she was or had seen her. At first he was terrified she was in an accident, but after six months, the most likely scenario was that she had run away. Two years after she vanished, Mal was completely broken hearted at the time and almost fell into alcohol, but he managed to hold it together for his daughter.
He had quit his job at Max & Lorn Engineering Firm and relied on his savings as looked after his daughter full time.
In order to try and sustain his income, he even started a career as an online novelist. He was currently writing a novel called 'Twenty Thousand Steps', a sports novel based on basketball. His novel had reached 5,000 subscribers overnight, which was what he was gloating to his daughter about.
"Yeah! Papa is the best!" Ether wiggled on his lap as she shot her hands into the sky in celebration, even though she didn't quite understand what it was she was supposed to be happy about.
"Of course, what should we do to celebrate?"
"I want ice cream!"
"What are you talking about, it's breakfast time. You can't have ice cream for break- ouch! Don't grab Daddy's beard, darling, it hurts."
Mal winced as Ether held a clump of his beard in her little hand, refusing to let go. She looked up at him with teary eyes that pleaded desperately.
Looking down at his daughter's face, Mal felt his heart go soft.
"Fine, it is a celebration after all, but just this once. There is a family restaurant nearby that does a nice ice cream on waffles with strawberries."
"I love you, Papa."
"Go get your hairbrush, I'll help you fix your hair before we go."
"Yay!" Ether called out as she slid off Mal's lap and toddled to the bathroom on her short legs, returning with a pink handled hairbrush she recently received for her sixth birthday.
"Come sit over here," Mal said tenderly as he pulled out a footstool from under his computer desk.
Ether sat on the stool as Mal brushed her long golden lochs, hair very similar to her mother's. He was careful as he did it, never applying too much pressure as he brushed out the knots in her hair for fear he would hurt her.
"Now it's your turn, Papa!" Ether bounced off the stool and took the hair brush back, pushing Mal off his chair and onto the stool with her little body.
"Fine, but you better do a proper job, I want to be the most handsome dad at the restaurant."
"Leave it to me!" Ether clumsily brushed her dad's gruff brown hair like brushing a doll, humming along with every stroke.
When she was done, Ether ran to the bathroom again to put the hairbrush back and brought out a little mirror, holding it up for her father to look at his reflection.
"I'm definitely the most handsome."
"Yep!"